A figure was sleeping quietly within the light-colored curtains. The warm mid-day sunlight filtered through the window paper and fell gently on the sleeping person's cheek. Perhaps sensing the light, his raven-feather-like eyelashes fluttered and slowly lifted upward, revealing a pair of misty eyes.
He reached out and rubbed his eyes. Wen Tian felt a little dazed. He turned and looked around. It was not an environment he was familiar with. Sitting up with his elbows propped against the bed, Wen Tian lifted the fallen curtains and leaned out half of his body to survey this strange room.
The last memory he had of the previous night was that of Chu Xiangtian putting him on the bed. Chu Xiangtian... When he thought of this name, Wen Tian immediately acted like a frightened rabbit, vigilantly pricking up his ears and looking around the room with wide eyes.
There weren't many things in the house; it even looked a little plain. The only thing noteworthy about the room was how everything in it was placed very neatly, so that the room appeared unusually tidy.
This was supposed to be a man's room.
Wen Tian moved his legs, wanting to get out of bed and take a look outside. As soon as he moved, the wide collar slipped off his shoulders, exposing half of his chest. Wen Tian pulled at the collar awkwardly, and then he noticed that the clothes he was wearing were not his own.
Going by the situation last night, it was likely that Chu Xiangtian changed it for him. Even this room might belong to Chu Xiangtian. Wen Tian bit his lip, tried not to think too much, and rearranged his clothes.
The black robe was far too big. Wen Tian tied the belt around his waist as tightly as possible and rolled up his sleeves three times before his wrists were exposed.
Holding on to the bedpost, Wen Tian tentatively tried to put his feet on the ground. There was still a dull ache in the soles of his feet, making his toes curl. Wen Tian tried to put on his shoes and stepped on the ground with one foot.
But he overestimated his endurance. The wound on his foot rubbed against the gauze. The pain instantly made him burst into tears. He took a breath of cold air. Wen Tian held onto the bedpost while standing on one foot. His other foot remained where it was as he hesitated to put it down.
"Wen Tian, I'll..."
Chu Xiangtian, who opened the door, fell silent for a moment and stared blankly at the person beside the bed.
Wen Tian was wearing his middle robe, his waist-length black hair spread out on his shoulders, his delicate collarbones half-covered and half-exposed, and a pair of misty eyes filled with tears. He just grabbed the bedpost and looked at him in a pitiful mann.
Chu Xiangtian's throat moved, and he strode over to pick him up and put him back on the bed. His tone was half-reproachful and half-distressed as he said, "Your foot is injured."
Wen Tian twisted uncomfortably, but looked behind him and exclaimed, "Dai Fu?!"
Only then did Dai Fu, who had followed Chu Xiangtian up the mountain, came over and said, "Sir, what's wrong with you?"
Chu Xiangtian opened his mouth to explain, but Wen Tian spoke first, "I fell by accident."
He skipped the in-between events, but Dai Fu was not fooled. He looked him up and down and said with some distress, "Master, you've lost weight."
Wen Tian rolled his eyes and asked him why he went up the mountain. "And how is the family?"
Dai Fu said, "It was Master Chu's who brought me here. The family... is not doing very well at home."
After hearing the news that Wen Tian had been kidnapped, the Wen family immediately reported to the officials. However, when the officials heard that it was the bandits from West Mountain who had kidnapped the person, they began to push back and refused to send troops to rescue him, dilly-dallying for two.
Fu Youqin was worried about Wen Tian's safety. At first, she wanted to spend money to hire people to rescue him, but Wen Boli stopped her, saying that it was too dangerous for her to recruit private militiamen to fight against bandits. It would better to wait. But they didn't know if Wen Tian was alive or dead in the mountain. How could Fu Youqin wait any longer? She got angry at her husband, who showed no signs of anxiety, and led his servants to the door carrying records of government debt.
The Fu family's properties were spread throughout Nanming County. One-third of the fertile land in Sifang Town and Lehe Town belonged to the Fu family. Every year, whenever the government tax revenue in the two towns fell short, it was the Fu family who would fill the gap.
Speaking nicely when borrowing funds, but not wanting to get into trouble when a moment of crisis came--under the sky, how could there be such a good thing? []
Fu Youqin led the housekeeper and servants in carrying two boxes of ledgers, and blocked the doors one by one. If they weren't going to save people, then pay back the money. However, these debts had been owed since Fu Youqin's father's generation. How much debt had been accumulated by now, and how could they afford to pay?
Unable to do anything, the elders of the two towns had to jointly report to the county magistrate, and then borrowed troops to encircle and besiege West Mountain Fortress.
Wen Tian had expected this result, but what he didn't expect was for Wen Boli to be colder than he'd thought.
Wen Tian smiled mockingly, then asked about Wen Shuyue. "Where is elder sister? Is she... okay?"
With how many days that had passed, Dai Fu must have already explained all Jiao Changxian's deeds. Judging from Wen Shuyue's temperament, it was inevitable that she would feel sad. There were also sayings in the town; they'd say that good things don't come out of the door while bad things spread a thousand miles. Even if it was the Wen family who took the initiative to break off the engagement, it was still not good for the woman's reputation.
"The young lady is looking after the family." Wen Shuyue was far stronger than Wen Tian imagined. Dai Fu said: "After I went back that day, Master and Madame were busy running around to the government office. The young lady was taking care of the house. The Jiao family came twice but was shut out by the young miss."
"That's good." Wen Tian finally showed a genuine smile and asked Dai Fu to help him up. "Is the carriage ready? Let's go back quickly."
Besides worrying about his own life, what he thought about most during his many days in Xishan Village was his mother and sister.
"I've asked Chang Xi to prepare the carriage and horses. Just wait a little longer." Chu Xiangtian beside him suddenly said.
The smile on Wen Tian's face froze and faded slightly. After a moment of silence, he still thanked Chu Xiangtian in a whisper. "Thank you."
Chu Xiangtian had a strange look on his face, somewhat dumbfounded. He reached out and patted Wen Tian on the head. "I'm the one who should be thanking you."
Wen Tian awkwardly avoided his hand and pulled Dai Fu to look outside anxiously and expectantly.
Chu Xiangtian, who had selfishly wanted to keep him for a while more, had no choice but to call the waiting Chang Xi over. Chang Xi drove the carriage to the door, and Wen Tian's eyes lit up when he heard the sound of horses whinnying.
"The carriage and horses are ready. Let's go." Chu Xiangtian bent down and picked him up.
Wen Tian subconsciously grabbed the clothes on his chest and said, "I can walk by myself."
Chu Xiangtian carried him and walked out. "Your injury is not healed, so don't try to be strong."
Wen Tian bit his lip and said nothing. On the other hand, Dai Fu didn't feel that anything was wrong at all, and followed the two of them happily.
The carriage was padded with soft cushions, and there were two plates of pastries placed on the table in the middle, which Chu Xiangtian had specially prepared. He placed Wen Tian in the inner seat, lowered the curtain, and booted Chang Xi out. Chu Xiangtian personally drove the carriage down the mountain himself.
The mountain road was bumpy, but luckily, the carriage was cushioned beforehand. Wen Tian leaned back against the innermost part of the carriage so he didn't feel the impact too much.
The carriage arrived at the foot of West Mountain where there was another carriage waiting. Fu Youqin heard the sound, opened the curtain and saw Chu Xiangtian and his party. Eagerness and joy was on her face as she called "Youling" in a trembling voice.
Hearing the familiar voice, Wen Tian, who had been dozing against the carriave wall, suddenly perked up. He leaned on the window, and he and his mother looked at each other. The eyes of both mother and son reddened without them noticing.
Fu Youqin wiped her tears with a handkerchief and asked a servant to drive a carriage for Wen Tian. "Mr. Chu, please send him here."
Chu Xiangtian sat still and refused politely, "Madame, you don't have to inconvenience yourself. I said I would personally send Master Wen back." He emphasized the word "personally" very strongly and deliberately, leaving no room for Fu Youqin to refuse.
Worried about causing complications, Fu Youqin didn't insist, but instead lowered the curtain and let the man lead the way.
The two carriages went to Sifang Town one after the other.
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===Author's Notes===
Tiantian after returning home: You, bandit. Get out!
#It’s different if someone supports you√#
===Translator's Notes===
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